Inability to concentrate, emotional distress, crazed behavior are a few of the effects of artificial food coloring on some children.

The five most compelling reasons to avoid artificial food coloring include possible links to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), hyperactivity and neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, cancer and the dyes’ complete lack of nutritional value.

1. ADHD: ADHD is likely caused by a combination of factors, including environment, brain structure and heredity. But artificial colors may also be a factor. Studies suggest an association, while an inconclusive one, between food dyes and ADHD. The hyperactivity triggered by food dyes is not only an ADHD problem, but also a public health problem.

2. Hyperactivity and Neurotoxicity: A 2004 meta-analysis of studies on food dyes and hyperactivity concluded that there was a cause-and-effect relationship between food colors and hyperactivity. Dyes “promote hyperactivity in hyperactive children, as measured on behavioral rating scales” and “society should engage in a broader discussion about whether the aesthetic and commercial rationale for the use of [artificial food colorings] is justified,” according to the Schab and Trinh 2004 analysis.

The reason artificial colors can trigger hyperactivity is because they are neurotoxic. As neurotoxins, dyes do not only impact hyperactive children. The toxins in the dyes can impair behavior in both non-hyperactive children and adults as well.

A study published in the Lancet by the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency in 2007 showed food dyes could increase hyperactive behavior in children. In the study of 3-, 8- and 9-year-olds, children were given three different types of beverages. One drink contained artificial colors, another artificial colors and sodium benzoate and a third was a control drink without additives. The results showed a connection between drinking both beverages with dyes and increased hyperactivity. This result was in children who were normally non-hyperactive.

In the UK, this study prompted warning labels that led to voluntary removal of artificial colors from many products, the USDA refuses to attach warning labels to similar products as it denies sufficient causation has been established. Red 40, in particular, has been linked to hyperactivity. Yellow 5 also has been linked to hyperactivity and behavioral issues.

3. Genotoxicity: Some artificial colors have been linked to triggering mutations or damaging chromosomes. Yellow 5 has shown genotoxic results in six of 11 studies, according to the CSPI’s report, “Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks.” This amount of positive results certainly warrants further study, if not a suspension of use of Yellow 5. In available results, Blue 2 tested positive in one of 11 genotoxicity studies; Blue 1 was positive in two of nine; Green 3 was positive in three of nine; Red 3 in four of 12; Red 40 in three of 10; and Yellow 6 in two of eight.

4. Cancer: Blue 2 and Yellow 5 have been linked with tumor growth and contain cancer-causing chemicals, according to the CSPI report. Blue 2 has been shown to trigger tumors, particularly brain gliomas, in rat studies. Yellow 5 may be contaminated with several carcinogens. It’s also triggered allergic reactions and hyperactivity.

5. Lack of Value: Artificial food coloring has no nutritional value or purpose. The level of dyes in our food is mindboggling. The only reason food companies put dyes in your food is because they believe it makes the food look more palatable and therefore more appealing to the consumer. We’ve heard this song and dance before when chicken were fed arsenic to pink up their flesh. Devaluing food dyes is up to the consumer. Stop purchasing foods laced with toxic dyes and, just like in the UK, the food companies will take them out. Currently, products made by McDonald’s, Mars, Kraft, PepsiCo, and other major U.S. multinational companies contain artificial food coloring in the United States, but natural or no colorings in the United Kingdom. While you wait for the FDA to come through with a ban, you can vote with your wallet for voluntary removal of dyes from our foods.

“Because of those toxicological considerations, including carcinogenicity, hypersensitivity reactions, and behavioral effects, food dyes cannot be considered safe. The FDA should ban food dyes, which serve no purpose other than a cosmetic effect, though quirks in the law make it difficult to do so (the law should be amended to make it no more difficult to ban food colorings than other food additives),” reads the CSPI report. “In the meantime, companies voluntarily should replace dyes with safer, natural colorings.”

Avoiding all processed foods is best, but avoiding harmful dyes in particular is of utmost importance. Some U.S. companies are beginning to limit dyes (Kraft, Pepperidge Farm and Frito Lay among them); however, until all artificial dyes are voluntarily removed or banned, keep an eye on your food labels.

Artificial food dyes have been shown to negatively impact children's behavior, likely causing hyperactivity and inflaming conditions like ADHD. But until recently, we had no way of knowing the exact amount of artificial food dyes in the foods we were eating. A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, finally shines a light on the amount of food dyes in some all-American favorites. The findings are disconcerting because the amount of food dyes found in many cases are higher than levels that have been found to impair a child’s behavior.

Artificial food dyes have been shown to negatively impact children’s behavior, likely causing hyperactivity and inflaming conditions like ADHD. But until recently, we had no way of knowing the exact amount of artificial food dyes in the foods we were eating. A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, finally shines a light on the amount of food dyes in some all-American favorites. The findings are disconcerting because the amount of food dyes found in many cases are higher than levels that have been found to impair a child’s behavior.

Artificial food dyes hide in many breakfast cereals. Fruity Cheerios contain 31 mg. Trix cereals contain Yellow 6, Blue 1, and Red 40–36 mg in all. Of all the cereals tested, Cap’n Crunch Oops! All Berries had the most artificial colors with 41 mg. Of the candies tested, M&M’s and Skittles had the highest amount of food dyes. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese was another biggie with 17 mg of food dye in the form of Yellow 5 and Yellow 6.

“In the 1970s and 1980s, many studies were conducted giving children 26 mg of a mixture of dyes,” said Laura Stevens, research associate in the Nutrition Science Department at Purdue and lead author of the study. “Only a few children seemed to react to the dyes, so many doctors concluded that a dye-free diet was pointless. Later studies using larger doses showed that a much larger percentage of children reacted. But some researchers considered those doses unrealistically high. It is now clear that even the larger amounts may not have been high enough. The time is long past due for the FDA to get dyes out of the food supply or for companies to do so voluntarily and promptly.”

You can easily avoid buying foods with artificial colors just by reading the label. And often times, food that look laden with coloring actually are.

]]>http://www.organicauthority.com/actual-levels-of-artificial-food-dyes-in-popular-foods-finally-revealed/feed/0China’s Processed Foods Become More Transparent Thanks to New Registryhttp://www.organicauthority.com/processed-foods-become-more-transparent-new-fda-registry
http://www.organicauthority.com/processed-foods-become-more-transparent-new-fda-registry#commentsWed, 15 Jan 2014 08:00:46 +0000http://www.organicauthority.com/?p=27023
The Chinese Food and Drug Administration is about to pull back the curtain on food additives.

Processed foods are bad for us, often because it’s hard to know exactly what’s in them. Most companies like to hide the nasty stuff they use to make processed foods so addictive, but a recent move by the Chinese Food and Drug Administration is about to pull back the curtain on food additives.

Starting in January 2014, all companies manufacturing, producing, packaging, selling or using food additives will be required to register the product name and the additives it contains with in a specialized government database. The registry initially launched in 2011 in response to the discovery of toxic plasticizers in processed foods, but until recently participation was only voluntary.

“The decision to make registration mandatory, the FDA said, was made because other food scandals emerged this year, including the unauthorized use of modified starches in food products and the use of unauthorized additives in cooking oils,” reports Focus Taiwan.

The FDA will enforce the mandatory registry by inspecting facilities where processed foods are made to verify that companies are only dealing with the additives they have registered. “Companies that fail to comply with the new rules will face a fine of between NT$30,000-NT$3 million (US$1,006-$100,572) under the Act Governing Food Sanitation,” reports China Post.

The move is just another example of how far behind the U.S. has fallen in terms of protecting consumers from toxic ingredients in processed foods. Where the European Union and China have pumped the brakes on genetically engineered foods and toxic food dyes in candy and cereals, the U.S. FDA refuses to take similar precautions.

Until the FDA steps up, it’s the job of conscious consumers to keep the pressure on the makers of processed foods to come clean about what’s in their products.

A petition asking Mars to eliminate artificial food coloring from the iconic M&M candies has over 60,000 signatures on Change.org. The petition, started by mother of two, Renee Shutters, claims that artificial food dyes can contribute to childhood hyperactivity and asks the candy giant to use natural food coloring instead.

“I believe eliminating these dyes did wonders for my family’s health,” writes Shutters on the petition page. “M&M’s are already made without most of those dyes in Europe so I don’t understand why they are being made with cheaper, controversial ingredients in North America? Please sign my petition asking for M&M’s to be made without artificial dyes.”

The vibrant colors of M&M’s are known and recognized around the world, it’s no wonder that kids are drawn to them. But according to Shutters, consuming these candies is dangerous, and not just because of all the sugar.

Her 9 year-old son experienced behavioral and emotional problems for years. Just two days after eliminating artificial food coloring from his diet, they began to see positive results.

“On the one hand,” Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, told NPR. “I think there’s a growing body of research that shows that artificial food colorings can affect a child’s behavior. On the other hand, these effects are relatively modest.”

Interestingly, when M&M’s are sold in Europe, different dyes are used because otherwise they’d be required by law to place a label on the packaging that says “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.”

More than 15 million pounds of dyes are used in processed food each year--a five-fold increase over 1955 levels--in spite of research that has linked the dyes with hyperactivity and other behavioral issues in children, as well as increasing the risk for certain types of cancer. Two moms, health and wellness experts Erica Reid and Latham Thomas, recently partnered with Healthy Child Healthy World to petition Kellogg's to take artificial food dyes out of the brand's fruit snacks. The petition has more than 75,000 signatures so far, with a goal of at least 100,000.

More than 15 million pounds of dyes are used in processed food each year–a five-fold increase over 1955 levels–in spite of research that has linked the dyes with hyperactivity and other behavioral issues in children, as well as increasing the risk for certain types of cancer. Two moms, health and wellness experts Erica Reid and Latham Thomas, recently partnered with Healthy Child Healthy World to petition Kellogg’s to take artificial food dyes out of the brand’s fruit snacks. The petition has more than 75,000 signatures so far, with a goal of at least 100,000.

Some of the most common dyes used in foods in the U.S. include Red #40, Blue #1 and Yellow #5–all of which are found in the Kellogg’s fruit snacks. The dyes provide no added nutritional value; they simply make the snacks (as well as brightly colored cereals, candies and sodas) more marketable to consumers–particularly children.

The dyes contain known carcinogens that the FDA regulates since safe dye consumption levels were determined in 1990. Unfortunately, U.S. dye-consumption has increased by 50 percent since 1990, despite the rise in reactions to the dyes among sensitive children.

In Europe, some dyes were banned in 2010 and labels have been required on all foods that contain chemical dyes stating that the product “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” Since labeling began, food dye usage has declined in major products sold in Europe. For example, McDonalds’ Europe strawberry sundae is now dyed red with strawberries. The same product in the U.S. is dyed with Red #40. Similarly, Orange Fanta sold in Britain is dyed with pumpkin and carrot extract, while it’s dyed with Red #40 and Yellow #5 in the U.S.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has urged several major multinational companies that do not use chemical dyes in Europe to do the same in the United States. Most of those companies replied that they will continue to use chemical dyes in the U.S. until they are ordered to cease by the government or until consumer demand slows the sale of chemically-dyed foods. CSPI also recently petitioned the FDA to ban certain food dyes. In 2011, the FDA voted 11-3 to deny the ban.

The ability of companies to use various natural dyes is clear–Starbucks and NECCO Wafers have both eliminated chemical dyes and Frito-Lay plans to phase out chemical dyes as well in U.S. products. Yet, without regulations in the U.S. to prevent chemical dye use, many companies continue to use lower cost chemical dyes. In addition to being cheaper than natural food dyes, chemicals are more stable color providers than natural dyes, making them more ideal for inudstrial food manufacturing.

If you believe your children are sensitive to food dyes, the CSPI asks that you file a report at www.cspinet.org/fooddyes. A list of more than a thousand foods made with dyes is also at that Web site. The only sure way to avoid these dyes currently is to buy organic products, which, if using dyes at all, use only all-natural dyes.

Dyeing eggs is one of the best parts of Easter … aside from the chocolate, of course. This Easter, skip the traditional dyes loaded with chemicals and color your eggs with foods that give off natural dyes.

Dyeing eggs is one of the best parts of Easter… aside from the chocolate, of course. This Easter, skip the traditional dyes loaded with chemicals and color your eggs with foods that give off natural dyes.

Those little bottles of food coloring that you’re used to using contain tons of chemicals and can negatively affect your children. According to Science News, they can cause ADHD, harm development, ignite hyperactivity, compromise your immune system and cause sterility. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention even found links between food coloring and asthma, allergic reactions and lead poisoning. Wowza! Despite all that, the FDA’s Food Advisory Committee concluded that there was not enough evidence to support a ban on food coloring based on those health claims.

Even though your child won’t be eating the food coloring on the Easter eggs (hopefully), they will still be dipping their hands and fingers in it which will seep into their skin and blood system. We prefer the most of natural of the natural approach; dyes from some of our favorite foods.

You’ll need white vinegar (it prepares the eggs to absorb color), a saucepan, water, eggs and the following food items.

Start by hard boiling your eggs. Cover your eggs with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let them cook for 8 minutes. Remove carefully from the water and place in a cushy spot to dry and cool. Prepare your dyes by adding 1 cup of water, 1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar, and your natural food coloring of choice to a sauce pan — about 1/2 cup to start. Simmer for 10 minutes and add more or less of the food item to achieve your desired color. Pour into an individual container (it should still be hot) and get ready to dip your eggs or paint them. Voila! Gorgeous Easter eggs without all those harsh chemicals.

On a side note: Since these dyes are all-natural, let your eggs soak for a few minutes or boil the eggs with the dye for brighter colors. Though they will not be quite as vivid as ones dyed with chemical food coloring, you still get all the fun in of this celebratory activity.

Forget green eggs and ham, fellow greenies. Party like a real saint this St. Patrick's Day by not only throwing back a pint or two, but by making your beer green, eco style. You don't have to be Irish to enjoy this holiday, and there are many reasons to celebrate not eating those nasty food dyes.

Forget green eggs and ham, fellow greenies. Party like a real saint this St. Patrick’s Day by not only throwing back a pint or two, but by making your beer green, eco style. You don’t have to be Irish to enjoy this holiday, and there are many reasons to celebrate not eating those nasty food dyes.

Did you know the original St. Patrick’s Day celebration color was blue? Lucky for us, it’s now green, which is a much easier color to make without artificial dyes. Food dyes that are still legal in the U.S. and Canada are banned in may other parts of the world and have been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers, behavioral problems (especially in children), asthma and other serious conditions.

Try some of these easy au natural green beer ideas this year:

A shot of fresh or powdered wheatgrass juice will not only turn your ale into a nice shade of green, but it’s chock full of minerals and vitamins, which may make your hangover less likely to linger the next morning. For a 16 ounce pint of beer, add 1 tablespoon of wheat grass juice to the glass, pour in the beer and stir.

Spirulina is a blue-green algae that has been a popular staple among health foodies for decades. It has more antioxidant power than chocolate and may be the most nutrient-dense food in the world. Some people love the taste, others find it’s a little sushi-seaweed like.

There are home-brewing methods for making spirulina beer, but you’d need to get a jump on that well before the holiday. Still, you can add ¼ to ½ a teaspoon to a beer and watch it turn green. Like with wheatgrass, the high levels of B vitamins may also prevent some of the next-day regrets.

Several companies now make natural and organic food coloring and dyes using only plant extracts. Check your local health food store or search online for all natural food-based dyes.

In 1976, M&M candies discontinued their "Red M" amidst concerns over the potentially fatal risk of red food coloring that contained amaranth (in FD&C Red #2), suspected as being cancer-causing. Though M&M did not use this dye in the product pulled from store shelves, fears about red-dyed foods were so heightened, the red-colored candy did not return for more than a decade.

In 1976, M&M candies discontinued their “Red M” amidst concerns over the potentially fatal risk of red food coloring that contained amaranth (in FD&C Red #2), suspected as being cancer-causing. Though M&M did not use this dye in the product pulled from store shelves, fears about red-dyed foods were so heightened, the red-colored candy did not return for more than a decade.

After much petitioning by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced plans to form an advisory committee meeting which will review clinical studies conducted on common food dyes including Yellow 5 and Red 40 and the link connecting them to adverse behavior issues in children.

Brought to public attention in the 1970s by a San Francisco allergist who noticed significant improvement in patients when they changed their diets, numerous studies have supported his theory, yet no regulations have been put in place to monitor the use of questionable dyes in cereals, snacks and candies targeted at children.

Throughout Europe, several countries have banned artificial dyes and require foods using any still-approved unnatural colors to prominently display warning labels on packaging. Those labels are required to state that consuming foods containing artificial colors might be linked to behavioral issues in children. American companies including Kellogg’s, Kraft and McDonald’s, have stopped using artificial dyes abroad while they continue to sell foods with the questionable ingredients to the U.S. market in lieu of their obvious capabilities to use natural alternatives.

Despite Europe’s tight stance on food dyes and the numerous clinical studies showing the increased risk to children who consume them, the FDA — even after commissioning its own studies on food dyes — has been reluctant to address the issue until now.

According to the FDA, in 2007 Americans were consuming five times more artificial food colorings than they were in 1955.